The Lucknow Sentinel, 2014-12-31, Page 7Wednesday, December 31, 2014 • Lucknow Sentinel 7
Draft Huron County Food Charter Now
Available for Community Review
Submitted
Members of the Huron Food
Action Network (HFAN) were the
first to see and comment on the
draft of a new Food Charter for
Huron County. As part of the
group's second Annual General
Meeting, local food consult-
ant, Joan Brady made a presen-
tation outlining the develop-
ment process and introducing
the draft version of the charter.
Once critiqued and refined a
final version will be launched,
early in 2015 and various stake-
holders will be invited to
endorse the vision.
A food charter is a vision and
often the first step in planning for
change as it visualizes what a posi-
tive food future could look like. It
outlines the goals and objectives
of the community and becomes a
tool to affect and inform pol-
icy. The Huron County's Food
Charter process is led by HFAN
members and guided by the
Huron Food Action Network's
Vision Statement: "Cultivating a
sustainable local food system to
nourish all people of Huron
County and beyond"
A series of community meet-
ings were conducted to gather
input and designate priorities
for a food charter. Discussion
included a consideration of
both the past and current con-
text of Huron County's Food
System and deeper discussion of
each of the elements of a food
system. These include food pro-
duction and related resources,
processing and distribution,
food access and consumption
and waste.
Each participant's perspective
was recorded and integrated
into the various values and aspi-
ration statements. These catego-
ries include: a just and
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sustainable food system that is
rooted in healthy communities;
an economically viable, diverse
and ecologically sustainable
food system, that enriches life
within the county while protect-
ing our precious natural
resources; a democratic and
participatory food system that
engages and empowers citizens
to make knowledgeable choices
about their food; a resilient food
system that is our assurance for
the future.
Amy MacDonald, Registered
Dietician with Huron County
Health Unit and HFAN Director
shared her enthusiasm: "HFAN is
excited that we have reached this
place in our Food Charter devel-
opment process. In Huron
County there has been much
success in various areas of food
system development but the
charter becomes a framework
where we can connect those
efforts and build support for fur-
ther work."
Joan Brady of Sustainable
Futures Farm and Food Consult-
ing added, "a food charter is writ-
ten by the community to build and
protect community strengths and I
look forward to this part of the
Food Charter development pro-
cess where we engage the public
and ask them to comment on
whether we have reflected their
values properly'!
A full copy of the Draft Char-
ter is available from Joan Brady,
jbrady@hay.net or Amy Mac-
Donald huronfoodactionnet-
work@gmail.com. All comments
are welcome.
The Draft Copy of the Food
Charter for Huron County
Please submit comments to Joan
Brady, jbrady@hay.net by January
31, 2015.
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A FOOD CHARTER FOR HURON
COUNTY
The Charter outlines the values
and beliefs about food in our
community. This charter will pro-
vide guidance for decisions
among government, local busi-
nesses, non-profit organizations,
families and individuals. As sig-
natories to this food charter, we
commit to work in partnership
toward a healthy food system
based on these principles. To sign
on go to www... .or contact the
Huron County Food Action Net-
work at
Preamble: (can include why,
what motivated creation of the
charter or what the broader goal
might be - can include addi-
tional context such as past tradi-
tions and/or social, economic
and environmental characteris-
tics - can define key words and
messages)
The Huron County Food Char-
ter describes our community's
commitment to Cultivating a Sus-
tainable Local Food System to
Nourish All People of Huron
County and Beyond. In order to
affect a positive future, we must
develop a vision to carry us for-
ward. We include in the vision the
strengths from our past, our
unique rural conditions and our
desire for an equitable and sus-
tainable future for Huron County.
Values/Aspirations (can be
organized by categories or subcate-
gories - can be phrased as direc-
tives/commitments)
We envision:
A just and sustainable food sys-
tem that is rooted in healthy
communities
* where no one is hungry and
everyone has access to healthy
nutritious food
* where public policies and
practices recognize that a
healthy diet contributes to the
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physical, mental, spiritual and
emotional well-being of all
residents
* where we also advocate for
income, employment, housing
and transportation that support
secure and dignified access to
healthy food
* where nutritional education
and healthy food choices in
schools, business and public places
is valued and provided
An economically viable,
diverse and ecologically sus-
tainable food system, that
enriches life within the county
while protecting our precious
natural resources
* Supporting a strong farming
economy with adequate
incomes for farmers, harvesters,
processors and distributers and
diverse, vibrant production for
external and local markets
*Recognizing the true value of
our food system as an economic
driver, environmental reserve and
source of healthy nutrients to fuel
our population
* Providing outlets and
sources of local food to feed
local citizens, increase business
to business synergy and allow
for the sale of local products
beyond Huron's borders
* Matching potential of local
and regional production with
appropriate processing and dis-
tribution to achieve a diversity of
scale, scope and size of food and
farm businesses
* Growing, harvesting, pro-
cessing, transporting and dis-
tributing food while minimizing
waste
A democratic and participa-
tory food system that engages
and empowers citizens to make
knowledgeable choices about
their food
*Allowing Huron County citi-
zens to collaborate and
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cooperate, working together to
make wise decisions
* Nurturing and improving
relationships between the com-
munity, food producers, and key
stakeholders to develop regional
food systems solutions
* Offering opportunities to
bring together community
members in appreciation of
regional food, culture and
diversity
* Driving provincial and fed-
eral policy based on Huron
County community values
A resilient food system that is
our assurance for the future
* Offering opportunities and
support for young and new
farmers and new food
businesses
* Reducing both our use and
our reliance on non-renewable
resources for all aspects of food
production and distribution
* Carefully balancing eco-
nomic, environmental and social
implications of innovation,
advancements and new technolo-
gies to ensure a benefit for all res-
idents of the county.
* Reassessing our food system
and living within the natural
limits by increasing use of sea-
sonal foods, preservation and
storage techniques, and season
extension strategies.
* Valuing and protecting agricul-
tural lands, ground and surface
water and promoting sustainable
farming practices
*Introducing environmentally
sound methods of food waste
management such as reduced
packaging, composting and recla-
mation programs.
Conclusion: (can reference how
the charter can/should be used. Can
suggest review/update process. Can
assign "ownership/facilitation of
the document)
To Be Determined
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